Petfinder Donates $250,000 To Divide Among 25 Shelter And Rescue Members To Celebrate 20th Anniversary And 25 Million Pet Adoptions
#MetOnPetfinder 20th Anniversary Video Exceeds 1.9 Million Views;
Donation to Petfinder Foundation to Help Further Support Animal Welfare Organizations
ST. LOUIS, Nov. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Petfinder, the nation's leading resource for pet adoption, announced today it will donate $250,000 to the Petfinder Foundation in celebration of its 20th anniversary. The donation will be awarded by the Petfinder Foundation in $10,000 grants to 25 shelter and rescue members, helping each organization to continue to transform the lives of adoptable pets in their care, as well as cultivate more lifelong relationships.
Beginning in late August, Petfinder asked people across the country to help make a $200,000 donation possible by watching and generating at least 1 million views of its #MetOnPetfinder anniversary video, which shows how adoptable pets have transformed the lives of their adopters. Pet lovers viewed the video more than 1 million times by mid-September, leading Petfinder to raise the goal to 1.25 million views and increase the donation by $50,000. The second goal was surpassed as the video was viewed more than 1.9 million times during an eight-week period.
"This year, Petfinder celebrates 20 years of helping find pets their forever homes. We are thankful for the support we've seen from pet advocates across country for the #MetOnPetfinder program which allowed us to overwhelmingly exceed our goals," said Kristin Ryan, Purina Pet Welfare team managing director. "Petfinder is making this donation to continue to demonstrate our shared passion for supporting adoptable pets."
As part of the celebration, Petfinder families, advocates, partners and fans also showed support by sharing their Petfinder adoption stories on social media using the hashtag #MetOnPetfinder.
The following 25 shelter and rescue members were selected to receive the $10,000grants:
- Montgomery Humane Society (Montgomery, Ala.)
- Pima Animal Care Center (Tucson, Ariz.)
- LapCats (Elk Grove, Calif.)
- Bunny World Foundation (Los Angeles)
- Rocky Mountain Feline Rescue (Denver)
- The Cat Network Inc. (Miami)
- Angels Among Us Pet Rescue, Inc. (Alpharetta, Ga.)
- Animal Rescue League of Iowa Inc. (Des Moines, Iowa)
- Bond County Humane Society (Greenville, Ill.)
- Animal Refuge Center Inc. (Vine Grove, Ky.)
- Ashland Animal Rescue Fund (Ashland, Ky.)
- MSPCA Boston Animal Care and Adoption Center (Boston)
- Adopt-A-Pet (Moorhead, Minn.)
- Hawk Creek Animal Shelter (Willmar, Minn.)
- St. Huberts Animal Welfare Center (Madison, N.J.)
- Burlington County Animal Alliance (Willingboro, N.J.)
- Wyoming County SPCA (Attica, N.Y.)
- Friendship Animal Protective League (Elyria, Ohio)
- Humane Society of the Ohio Valley (Marietta, Ohio)
- Oakville & Milton Humane Society (Oakville, Ontario)
- Forgotten Felines and Fidos (Germansville, Pa.)
- Frances R. Willis SPCA (Summerville, S.C.)
- Dallas Animal Services & Adoption Center (Dallas)
- Cleburne Animal Shelter (Cleburne, Texas)
- Center Valley Animal Rescue (Quilcene, Wash.)
"The donation from Petfinder will help transform the lives of many adoptable pets in the care of shelter and rescue organizations," said Toni Morgan, Petfinder Foundation executive director. "We're incredibly thankful for our relationship with Petfinder and look forward to celebrating millions more pet adoptions with them in the future."
Over the past 20 years, Petfinder has harnessed the power of the internet to help facilitate more than 25 million pet adoptions through its extensive network of more than 13,000 shelter and rescue organizations. At any given time, there are more than 250,000 adoptable pets featured on Petfinder.
Petfinder was founded in 1996 by Betsy Banks Saul and Jared Saul, who started a website to help save lives of adoptable pets by connecting people to various animal shelters across New Jersey.
About Petfinder
Petfinder is a leading online resource for pet adoption, education, awareness and advocacy. It strives to promote the advantage of adopting pets and make it easy to connect people with adoptable pets. Petfinder's searchable online database of animals that need homes is updated daily and includes a directory of more than 13,000 animal shelters and adoption organizations across the United States, Canadaand Mexico. Petfinder also includes a library of free pet-care articles to help keep pets in their homes. Since 1996, Petfinder has helped more than 25 million pets find forever homes. Petfinder joined the Nestlé Purina family in 2013.
About the Petfinder Foundation
The Petfinder Foundation assists the 13,000+ animal shelters and rescue groups that post their adoptable pets on Petfinder.com. A nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, the Petfinder Foundation helps adoption organizations find homes for the pets in their care through its Sponsor A Pet, Disaster and Emergency Response, Quality of Life and other programs. Since its founding in 2003, the Petfinder Foundation has given more than $20 million in cash and product grants to shelters and rescue groups in the United States, Canada and Mexico. To learn more about the Petfinder Foundation, please visit www.petfinderfoundation.com.
About Nestlé Purina PetCare
Nestlé Purina PetCare promotes responsible pet care, community involvement and the positive bond between people and their pets. A premiere global manufacturer of pet products, Nestlé Purina PetCare is part of Swiss-based Nestlé S.A., a global leader in nutrition, health and wellness.
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SOURCE Petfinder